


the next day (and the next)

by yodalorian



Series: after all [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Healing, Post-Canon, Post-War, Team as Family, these kids are all traumatized probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:46:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yodalorian/pseuds/yodalorian
Summary: "But for the first time, Aang knew for sure this goodbye wouldn’t be the last. He would see his friends the next day, and the next. Forever, Aang thought, and he meant it. The Fire Nation would freeze over before the Avatar allowed anything, even something petty like death, to keep him from his friends."The war's over. Ozai has been defeated. The next day, Team Avatar takes a much needed break, to relax and heal their scars.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko, all of team avatar
Series: after all [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942849
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	the next day (and the next)

**Author's Note:**

> i have too many emotions about these magic kids. i thought writing this would help. it did not.

Aang awakened with a jolt. The sunlight was warm on his face, turned blood-red by the curtains...red? No. No. His heartbeat quickened as he took in his surroundings. Everything was the same sickly shade of scarlet, the insignia of the Fire Nation draped over the walls. Wind began to swirl around him, kicking up a cyclone as his breath came in hitched gasps. He had been taken prisoner, he was deep in the heart of enemy territory, this couldn’t be happening, he needed to get out, he needed to face the Fire Lord, he needed-- 

“Sir? Are you okay?” The door opened and a servant stepped in. Her eyes widened at the windstorm swirling inside and she yelped.

It all came flooding back to Aang. It was over. It was all over. Fire Lord Ozai was powerless and imprisoned. He was safe, and he was in the palace as a guest. The past year of running and fighting for his life was little more than a nightmare now. The wind died down and the furniture crashed to the floor.

“Sorry,” Aang mumbled. He dropped his fighting stance and flopped back down on the bed.

“Um.” The servant looked like she didn’t quite know what to make of the all-powerful thirteen year old in front of her. Especially since she and everyone she knew had spent their lives vowing to support Ozai and destroy the sinister Avatar. The awkward moment stretched in silence. “Would...you like some breakfast?”

Aang managed to roll out of bed and get dressed, wincing. His whole body felt bruised. After all, he had spent all of yesterday falling out of the sky and getting thrown into cliffs. He gingerly walked out of his room.

“Oh. Hey Katara.” She was radiant in the rising sun. The light glowed through her hair, turning it almost copper. Aang’s face felt hot. It seemed to do that a lot around her lately.

“You okay?” Worry filled her blue eyes. “I heard a crash.”

“Oh. Um. Just an accident.” 

Katara looked skeptical, but she didn’t push it. Together, they made their way downstairs, Aang leaning on Katara for support just a little.

Fire Nation guards opened gilded doors for them as they approached. All of this felt so weird. Aang’s stomach still dropped every time he saw their black armor. It would take a while before he unlearned that.

They stepped into a massive room. The ceiling arched high upwards, supported by columns of gold that gleamed red in the sun. Intricate paintings of Fire Nation history covered the walls, and a sleek mahogany table filled the center. The Hall of Chaeryu. Aang had heard the Air Nomads mention it, a chamber that had turned the course of history several times with the meetings that took place within. At the present, however, four teenagers were crashed there.

“Nice of you two to join us,” Zuko smirked. “Hey, Aang? I know you’re the Avatar and all, but guests usually don’t destroy their rooms.”

Aang grinned sheepishly. News traveled fast here. “Sorry.” Zuko’s eyes came alive with amusement, in a way they never used to.

Aang and Katara took seats in front of platters piled high with food. It was more than Aang had ever seen in his life. Next to them, Sokka was scarfing down so much he almost looked like he was suffocating. Suki shot them a look that said  _ I’ll try to make sure he doesn’t vomit all of this up later. _

Sokka couldn’t talk much, since he was on the brink of a food coma, but none of the rest of them felt like much of a conversation anyway. What was there to say, the morning after you topple a dictator and prevent the apocalypse? For now, the fact that they were all alive and together was enough. 

Finally, servants came and cleared away the plates. Sokka sat back and burped. “Zuko’s my favorite out of all of you now,” he declared.

Katara shot him a look of mock offense. “Over your own sister?”

“Hey, talk to me when you become Fire Lord and can feed me like that. I might just move in here.” They all laughed, and for once it wasn’t burdened by the knowledge they might die the next day.

Toph kicked up her feet onto the table, scuffing the centuries-old wood and making the servants cringe. “So. What are we doing today?”

They glanced at each other. What were they going to do? Zuko’s coronation wouldn’t be for another few days. There was a lot of rebuilding to do, but there was no rush. No comet to beat, no eclipse to catch. The day stretched out in front of them, golden and free.

“We could tour the city?” Zuko suggested.

Sokka’s face lit up. “Map? Map map map map map!”

Zuko sighed and ordered one of the servants to get a map. The servant returned a few minutes later, with the leather-bound latest edition of the royal atlas. Sokka looked like he was going to start kissing the exquisitely painted maps inside.

As Sokka started crafting an itinerary, Aang said, “Maybe we could go in disguise?”

Katara looked at him. “Why? There’s no need anymore.”

Aang just shrugged. “Not saying we need the fake beard or anything.” Sokka deflated a little. “Just might be nice.” Katara could read the words he didn’t say.  _ Might be nice to not be the Avatar for a day.  _ Toph was wholeheartedly in support of the chance to cause some more mischief.

They set out into the streets, dressed like any other Fire Nation citizen, Aang with a hat and headband to cover his tattoo and Zuko with a hat pulled low to cover his scar. There was a sense of uneasiness in the air, with the path the nation had been single-mindedly set on changed overnight. Yet there was hope too. War was kind to no one, not even the aggressor.

Sokka carefully inspected his itinerary and the map he had painstakingly recreated, since he had deemed the atlas too precious to risk on the streets. Sokka insisted his map was accurate, even though it just looked like a bunch of squiggles and blobs to the others. “Alright, so if we’re going to hit the museum, the park, and the zoo today, we’re only going to have about three bathroom breaks, and we—“

“Relax, Plan Guy.” Toph stamped her foot and Sokka crashed, face first, into the spire of rock that suddenly jutted out of the ground. He gasped in horror at his itinerary speared on it.

Katara shrugged. “Might be nice to not have to follow a schedule.” Sokka pouted and limped on his crutches after the others, but still grumbling quietly to Suki as she let him lean on her.

She laughed softly. “You don’t have to take care of everyone all the time, you know.”

He stared at her. “I do not!”

“Yes, you do. I’ve seen you. Constantly making plans, figuring out where you guys are gonna go next and what you’re gonna do.” 

“Well that’s—they don’t—I have to!” Sokka stammered.

“I know.” Suki lightly bumped his shoulder with hers. “I get it. You’ve had to take care of the people around you since you were thirteen. That’s when your dad left, right?”

Sokka looked down at his broken leg dragging over the pavement. She was right. He hadn’t even noticed how much of a habit it had become. He had been left in charge of his entire village when he was just a kid, and that was when he learned that everything felt okay when the people he loved were okay. As long as his friends were safe, as long as  _ Katara  _ was safe, everything seemed like it wouldn’t be so bad. Protecting people had become as second nature as breathing to him.

“It’s not a bad thing,” Suki murmured. “It’s good. I doubt Katara and Aang would’ve gotten anywhere without you. But sometimes...let yourself just be a kid.”

He took a deep breath. Just a kid. Just Sokka. Not Wolf Warrior Sokka, not patriarch of the Southern Water Tribe Sokka. Just Sokka. He could do that.

He smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks. You can relax too, you know.”

Suki frowned. “What?” 

Sokka nodded towards her hand, gripped tightly on her belt where her fans usually were and tensing every time someone walked by.

“Oh. Yeah.” Suki sighed and let her hand drop to her side. “As a Kyoshi Warrior, you’re just trained to always be ready. Especially because I’ve never known a time without the war.”

“I know.” Sokka remembered sleepless nights when it seemed like every crunch of snow outside could be Southern Raiders coming to finish the job. “The war’s over. We’re okay.”

Suki returned his smile, and for a moment she couldn’t tell if she was still supporting him or if he was supporting her. Maybe both.

“Come on. The others are getting ahead.” 

Sokka tried to move a little faster and scowled at his annoyingly useless leg. “I’ll carry you,” Suki suggested.

He stared at her. “What?” They were the same size, there was no way…

Suki laughed. “When are you going to stop underestimating me? You’re lucky you’re cute.” Sokka yelped as she tossed him over her shoulders, and couldn’t help laughing as she ran after their friends.

They meandered through the streets of Capital City, like just any other group of teenagers on this sunny afternoon. Toph occasionally made locals trip just for the fun of it, and Aang decided to start practicing his haggling skills again. He was amazed at his luck when shopkeepers practically pushed things into his hands for free, and never noticed their whimpers as Zuko flashed his scar at them behind Aang’s back.

They bought lunch and hiked up one of the hills in the city’s sprawling parks to have a picnic. Sparrowkeets chittered in the trees as they stretched out in the soft grass.

Toph dunked her feet in a nearby pond, feeling the cool water wash over them. Seismic sense was strange in water. She could still feel vibrations, but the images they created were blurry and amorphous. Normally she would be nervous when she couldn’t “see”, but today she didn’t feel like being nervous about anything. Didn’t mean she couldn’t still earthbend. Toph wriggled her toes, and tourists walking the paths nearby started getting confused when they were walking but not moving or ended up where they started.

“Are you going to stop harassing my citizens?” Zuko sat down next to her.

“Nope,” Toph grinned.

Zuko laughed softly. A few turtle ducks floated over and started nibbling at Toph’s toes. Zuko pulled off a few pieces of bread and tossed them into the water. He did this with his mother, a long time ago. It felt like another lifetime.

“Stop doing that,” Toph grumbled. “I can tell when you get all sad. Your heart starts beating weird.”

“Oh,” Zuko mumbled. “Sorry?”

Toph flopped backwards onto the ground. “The past is the past. No point in reliving it. If my parents were here, I’d get the scolding of a lifetime,” she laughed. Her face was muddy, her hair was untidy, and pedestrians were still tripping behind her. “But they aren’t here. I don’t even think of them as family anymore, not really. You guys are.”

Zuko’s face flushed. “Even you, Mr. Broody Fire Lord,” Toph smirked.

Zuko tried to imagine what his father would say. How he would react to seeing his heir having lunch with the Avatar after they ruined the plans of three generations of Fire Lords. But Toph was right. He didn’t really care anymore. There was no tyrannical father demanding he restore his honor or cruel sister mocking him. He had his friends, and they were all the family he needed.

Toph punched him in the arm playfully, and it hurt more than he would’ve admitted. Still, he stretched out in the grass next to her, and turtle ducklings hopped out of the water and started using their bodies as playgrounds.

Eventually, the sun started dipping back down towards the horizon. The first day of peacetime was drawing to a close. They walked back to the palace, each saying good night to the others and going back to their rooms. But for the first time, Aang knew for sure this goodbye wouldn’t be the last. He would see his friends the next day, and the next.  _ Forever,  _ Aang thought, and he meant it. The Fire Nation would freeze over before the Avatar allowed anything, even something petty like death, to keep him from his friends.

The streets of Capital City were still bright, and Aang didn’t want to go to bed just yet. Finally, he jumped out of his window, forming a swirling ball of air under his feet. He soared upwards, hovering outside Katara’s window and lightly tapping it.

“Aang?” Katara dropped her hairbrush and opened the window. “What are you doing here?”

He offered her one of his wide grins. “I don’t want the day to end yet. Wanna come?”

Katara laughed. “I don’t think I can say no to you.” Aang reached out a hand, and Katara took it, letting him pull her onto the air scooter. It was just big enough for the two of them, if Katara clutched Aang’s waist.

They glided down to the glowing streets. It felt like the city really came alive at night. Aang noticed defiant grins as people tore down Ozai’s banners and stayed out as late as they wanted. He even heard street musicians, pulling out hidden instruments and painting the silence. The city breathed like it hadn’t in a hundred years. 

Without him noticing, Aang’s feet began to jitter to the music. Katara tried not to laugh, and in response Aang exaggerated his jerky steps. “It would be less awkward if you joined me,” he suggested.

“Fine.” Katara took his hands, and together they danced to the twangy melody. They twirled and spun, just like they had in the cave. Not the Avatar, not war heroes, not even an airbender and a waterbender. Just a boy and a girl, out together for a night. Just two kids, dancing under flaming paper lanterns and starlight, together and maybe something more.

The Fire Nation citizens stared at them as they danced freely in the city square. A few looked around nervously, still expecting guards to rush out and stop them. But that time was over. A few kids broke from their parents and joined them, laughing gleefully. Aang and Katara led the Fire Nation into their dance, moving together through the night, without a care for the past or the future. They had already found everything they needed.

**Author's Note:**

> don't be like zuko feeding bread to ducks is actually bad for them
> 
> i don't ship kataang but i wanted this to fit into canon so  
> sorry if i wrote your favorite ship badly
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/jedioncer?lang=en)  
> to hear me yell about other dumb things


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